


their skin was gilded

by spacecitytraffic



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Oh also, Other, brian has eds, disabled college mechs yay!!, marius and brian live together and they're sweet that's it, marius has tremors in his hands and arms, nonbinary brian!, this is total self indulgent fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:55:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28536240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacecitytraffic/pseuds/spacecitytraffic
Summary: Marius washes Brian's hair in the kitchen sink, and Brian shares what's been on his mind lately.(In other words, I've been thinking about the complex relationships between long hair, chronic illness, gender, and love. And who better to explore that with than our dear drumbot?)
Relationships: Drumbot Brian/Marius von Raum
Comments: 26
Kudos: 58





	their skin was gilded

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Sweetness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28360281) by [Angels_Artillery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angels_Artillery/pseuds/Angels_Artillery). 



> Thanks to @Angels_Artillery for inspiring me to write this, beta-reading it, and catching my goofs!! It's been wonderful working and brainstorming with you. :D
> 
> I can't think of any content warnings, but y'all please let me know if there are any you'd like, and I'll absolutely add them.
> 
> The title comes from "At Dawn" by the Oh Hellos.
> 
> Enjoy!!

To be perfectly honest, Marius is about two seconds away from falling asleep right there on the couch with Brian’s hand in his. The evening is comfortably warm, and it’s been a long day. But when he opens one eye to try and fend off unconsciousness, he can’t help but notice that his boyfriend doesn’t seem to share his feelings of contentment. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Marius bumps his head up against Brian’s shoulder. “Everything okay?”

After a brief attempt to smile, Brian ends up sighing instead. Those beautiful blue eyes are rimmed with purple shadows, and they don’t sparkle like they usually do. “Yeah, I just… I’m tired. Is all.”

“Yeah?” Marius prompts.

“Yeah.” Brian leans back against the couch cushions defeatedly. “The past few days have just been a lot, I guess. And the pain has been… not good, for a while, now. I know I should appreciate the here and now, but…”

Marius raises his eyebrows. “But?”

“I dunno. Just… I have a lot to do tomorrow, and I don’t think the pain will be any better by then, and…” Another small sigh, accompanied by a frown. “It’s stupid, but I haven’t had the energy to properly wash my hair in ages, and I just feel, I dunno. Gross.”

“Oh, my love, you are  _ not _ stupid. Or gross. That sort of slander will not be tolerated here, do you hear me?” Marius pulls away and glances down at his hands carefully. They’re steadier than usual today, and he starts to get an idea that could actually work. “But… if you want, I might be able to help out at least a little.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I could pull up a chair by the kitchen sink and wash your hair for you.” Marius offers a smile. “You know how much I love playing with it. I wouldn’t mind.”

Brian glances away, reddening a little. “Marius, I have a  _ lot _ of hair, I couldn’t ask you to… you’d really…”

“I’d be happy to, Bri,” Marius says fondly. “Would it be something you’d want?”

After a moment, Brian gives a small nod and an even smaller smile. “God, you’re a lifesaver.”

Marius just laughs at him as he hops up to make good on his offer. He grabs some shampoo from the bathroom, drags a chair over to the kitchen sink, helps Brian over to it, and turns on the water until it starts to turn warm. “There we go,” he says absently. “Tilt your head back for me?”

“Sure, yeah.” Brian obeys, letting limp curls dangle into the sink. “Is that good?”

“Yeah, you’re great.” Humming to himself, Marius pulls the faucet head forward and works the tepid water into his boyfriend’s scalp with shaky fingers. “Temperature okay?”

“Mm-hmm.” Brian melts into a smile under Marius’ touch, just like always. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, love.”

Marius just chuckles as he works. “I could say the same for you. You’re so handsome like this, you know. Looking up like some kind of saint.”

“You’re full of it.” Brian sighs amiably and looks away.

“No, you,” Marius replies. He squirts some shampoo into his palms and lathers it up as best as he can, then twists his fingers into Brian’s hair to spread it around. For a few seconds, he just works quietly, tugging at tangles and making sure the water doesn’t get too hot. 

Then Brian glances back up at him, looking hesitant. “Hey, Marius?”

“Yeah, love?”

“Do you…” Brian swallows quickly. “Do you think you could not call me that? Handsome, I mean?”

“Oh, sure, of course.” Marius pauses in his work, gazing down with concern. “Is there any reason, or…”

Brian fidgets a little, then takes a breath for courage. “I just, I… I’m not sure I vibe with it, is all. Or, um. Most gendered terms. I’m finding out lately.”

“Oh, hm. Okay, I’ll make sure to avoid that, then.” Marius returns to his shampooing, thinking hard. “What about ‘boyfriend’? Would you prefer something else for that?”

Brian shrugs. “Honestly, that one doesn’t bother me too much, not sure why. And I haven’t found any alternatives I like better, but, um. I guess I’ll let you know if I do?”

“Go for it, yeah, please do.” Marius grabs the faucet and starts rinsing out the soap. “What about pronouns? Are you thinking of keeping ‘em the same, or are you gonna switch to they/them, neopronouns, anything like that?”

“I, um…” Brian stalls for a second or two. “I don’t think I’m certain enough, or, well. Brave enough. To change anything publicly. At least not yet. But, um… I wouldn’t mind if you used they/them for me? At least just with friends? Like, really close friends?”

“Sure, no problem.” Marius pauses to press a quick kiss to Brian’s cheek, then returns to his work. “Keep me updated on what’s good for you, okay?”

“Yeah, will do.” Brian breathes out, and the last bit of tension finally releases from their shoulders. They lean into Marius’ touch on their scalp, starting to smile softly. “Again, you’re just… so good.”

Marius has to chuckle at that. “Brian, love, basic support isn’t anything mind-blowing.”

“In my experience, it actually might be,” Brian points out reasonably. 

“Well, it shouldn’t be.” Marius gives a final rinse until the water runs clear, then shuts off the tap and ruffles Brian’s sopping hair. “And anyway, everyone knows that I’m the lucky one here. ‘Cause I get to live with the most amazing person in the world.”

Brian rolls their eyes. “Oh, really.”

“Yes, really!” Marius grins. “You may have met them, actually. They’re incredibly tall, so they give great hugs, and they can reach all the highest shelves...”

“Not my fault you’re short,” Brian retorts playfully. But a pink flush is spreading across their pale skin, and they look immensely pleased.

“And they’re nice, too,” Marius continues, grabbing a towel and starting to dry Brian’s hair off. “They’re always there for me when I need it, ‘cause they know exactly what it’s like to need an extra bit of help sometimes. They always just  _ get it _ , and I’ve gotten to build a really good life with them that works really well for both of us.”

Brian is grinning from ear to ear now, even though they look like they’re trying to squash the expression. “Marius, you don’t have to…”

“Hush, I’m not done,” Marius chides. “I haven’t even gotten started on their hair. Strawberry blond in the sunlight, silver and gold in the moonlight. Somehow, it always gets so tangled, but I always love running my hands through it and braiding it when I can. It’s one of the prettiest things about them.”

Brian thinks for a moment. “Yeah, I think pretty isn’t a bad word for me.”

“I’m glad. I’ll keep that in mind.” Marius finishes toweling off Brian’s head and steps back to signal that he’s done. “Feel better?”

Sitting up, Brian runs their fingers though their wet locks and shakes their head a little. “Yeah, much better. Honestly, I’ve contemplated cutting all of this off so many times before, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to do it.”

“Really?” Marius raises his eyebrows. “Why?”

“I dunno, it just…” Brian twists one curl around their finger fondly. “It feels nice, this long. It’s like… I don’t want to wear makeup or do much to present differently than I already do, I just kinda want to, hmm.  _ Be _ . You know? But letting my hair get long feels like a good way to do that. Like, it makes me feel less masculine just by  _ being _ , like a non-action or something. Like it’s… my natural state. Maybe. Sorry if that doesn’t make sense.”

“No, that makes perfect sense.” Marius leans one elbow against the counter and runs his fingers through Brian’s hair. “Why even consider cutting it, then?”

“I dunno. Days like this, I guess. It is kinda hard to keep up with.” Brian shrugs. “Who knows what I’ll settle on, in the end.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure out something that works for you,” Marius tells them with a smile. Then he squeezes their shoulder briefly. “And hey, I absolutely volunteer my services to do this again, any time you need. Assuming my hands are good that day, of course.”

“Thank you.” Brian looks over at him with eyes full of emotion. In a small movement, they take Marius’ hand in theirs and bring his knuckles to their lips, brushing a small kiss onto the damp skin. “You’re the best, love.”

“Nothing but the best for my love.” Marius winks. “C’mon, let’s head to bed, you need some rest for tomorrow.” 

“Yeah, yeah. The same goes for you too, you know.”

And so the two of them clean up and fall asleep in each other’s arms, and neither one of them dreams all night long. 

When Marius finally wakes up again, the early morning sunlight is already turning Brian’s cascade of curls into liquid gold on the pillow across from him. Dappled shadows play over the room for a few minutes. The light is beautiful. And as Marius gazes at Brian in that pool of radiance, all he can think is how perfect they are. 


End file.
